Goats don't like the feed/hay I offer??

[doubleatraining]

Last time I checked goats eat just about anything! My Dad's goats like everything from Popsicles in the summer to good hay in the winter.

MY goats hardly eat the Noble Goat I bought them. They pick at the Timothy and use the Fescue as bedding.


UGH. What am I doing wrong?

 

[Mamaboid]

Last time I checked goats eat just about anything! My Dad's goats like everything from Popsicles in the summer to good hay in the winter.

MY goats hardly eat the Noble Goat I bought them. They pick at the Timothy and use the Fescue as bedding.


UGH. What am I doing wrong?

'Goats eat everything' is one of the biggest untruths there is. They are actually very picky eaters. They just like to eat what you don't want them to. Mine will NOT eat anything that comes in pellet form, no way, no how. Hay they will eat anything, but definitely have their preferences. They will leave a bale of hay untouched and only eat what fresh we put down unless we don't put any fresh out, then they reluctantly will eat the bale they didn't want for some reason. The hay can come from the same field, same cutting whatever. Just keep trying. Only thing I know to tell you, maybe someone else has good ideas.

 

[doubleatraining]

Last time I checked goats eat just about anything! My Dad's goats like everything from Popsicles in the summer to good hay in the winter.

MY goats hardly eat the Noble Goat I bought them. They pick at the Timothy and use the Fescue as bedding.


UGH. What am I doing wrong?

'Goats eat everything' is one of the biggest untruths there is. They are actually very picky eaters. They just like to eat what you don't want them to. Mine will NOT eat anything that comes in pellet form, no way, no how. Hay they will eat anything, but definitely have their preferences. They will leave a bale of hay untouched and only eat what fresh we put down unless we don't put any fresh out, then they reluctantly will eat the bale they didn't want for some reason. The hay can come from the same field, same cutting whatever. Just keep trying. Only thing I know to tell you, maybe someone else has good ideas.

LOL please go tell my Dad's goats to be picky. Of course, they aren't livestock....they are dogs with horns that live in the pasture with the donkey and cow. He walks them on a leash and they love him.

Both places I got these goats from claimed they fed them Noble Goat.

 

[Catahoula]

They are picky and don't like to try new food. What I have done is mix in tiny bit of the new food with their old ones. They would pick them out...and eventually would start to eat it. I would then increase the new food. As for the hay, goats waste hay..period. Try to find yourself a good feeder with a deep tray so you can catch some of the hay. Once the hay fell to the ground, they are bedding. So what do you goats eat? You may just leave out the noble goats and limit the hay amount so they don't waste so much...if they get hungry, they'll start eating it. How long have you had them? If you just got them, they may be adjusting.

 

[marilyn1]

mine liked noble goat. Ate Purina goat chow but kinda picked at it. They love nutrena sweet feed. I would have thought the Purina and the Nutrena would have been the same taste but they really go after the nutrena. The baby doesn't seem to like the sweet feed and liked the noble. They love t & a hay and do not waste as much of that as they did the coastal hay I was feeding

 

[Jewls819]

When I first brought my goats home I fed them a little Dumor Sweet feed, alfalfa pellets, and slowly added in (black oil sunflower seeds for my preg doe) and hay. The hay is meadow grass hay. They picked around everything for the sweet feed only but after a week they ate everything I offered. The hay is something they munch on while they are laying in thier house. They make a mess of it. However, they have bamboo, grass, honeysuckle vines and such to eat too. They prefer to browse unless there is grain..lol. Now, I had to separate my doe and buck when she gave birth this week. THis is making it easier to feed now. I now feed my buck Dumor goat formula because it has ammonium chloride and a little sweet feed mostly out of my hand for a treat.
Here is another weird thing too. I started them on Molly's Herbal wormer in thier first week(after dosing them with Ivemectrin) with me because they were very wormy. I tried mixing in their food and they hated it so I drenched them(they hated that too). Now 5 weeks later I just simply mix into thier food once a week and they eat it all up. Thank goodness that is so much easier.
Anyway unlike what I though, goats do not like new things but I think they had to learn to trust me too and they must feel better because they certainly look better!

 

[Oakroot]

How long have you have them. All the goats I have brought home took a day or two to settle in and starting eating.